


Crimson Demolisher

by sammyaworks



Category: Crimson Demolisher (Original Work), Original Work
Genre: Alternate History, Characters of color, Fictional Country, Gay, Gen, Interracial Relationship, LGBTQ Character of Color, M/M, Novel, Original Slash, POV Character of Color, South America, Speculation, Superheroes, Superheroes not in the USA, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9644789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammyaworks/pseuds/sammyaworks
Summary: Miguel Locke Castillo grew up watching the married superhero duo of Scarlet Avenger and Lady Jewel save his city from dangerous threats. When they died due to a tragic accident he and the rest of the country were left in a state of stunned mourning. Now, at the cusp of adulthood and with crime on the rise, Miguel has decided to pick up where his idols left off. Will he truly be able to keep his city safe?Updates every three months. Check  outsammyawrites.comfor details.





	1. Issue #01

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to _Crimson Demolisher_ which is my new monthly serialized novel!
> 
>  _Crimson Demolisher_ is about Miguel's struggle to become a superhero that can make his long dead idols proud. I'll state here now, that it is also additionally about love in all the various forms it takes. I'm looking forward to sharing this amazing project with you all. 
> 
> Follow me for updates on _Crimson Demolisher_ and other original stories on my website [sammyawrites.com](https://www.sammyawrites.com/) or [my twitter! ](https://twitter.com/sammyaworks)
> 
> I highly recommend checking out my website/twitter as those are the sites where you'll be able to find out all sorts of neat background information on _Crimson Demolisher_! I'll be sharing things like artwork I've commissioned for the series, character profiles, and many more things that I'm unable to post here! 
> 
> Comments (either of appreciation or constructive critique), kudos, fanart, etc, are all welcome here and in fact encourage me to keep writing! Feel free to send me any and all of those here or through [ my site](https://www.sammyawrites.com/).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miguel's journey to herohood begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view a much more detailed author's note [here!](https://www.sammyaworks.com/blogs/an-cd-v1-01/%22)

Captain Grace’s wings cut through the darkness as she struggled to keep herself aloft. Despite her best efforts, the burn on her back was too much.

She fell.

To the few who witnessed this, she was little more than a smear of light falling down from the sky. A misplaced star that crashed into the asphalt, making a mockery of her very title. There was little grace to be found as she grimly picked herself back up and faced her foes. Wounds or not, she was a superhero and this was her calling. There would be no giving up, no backing down--not until there was no longer life in her to fight.

There was no smirk on her face, no boastful words that fell from her lips as she let her golden wings dissipate into the nothingness from which she’d called them. Captain Grace’s hands were clenched tightly as she glared at the semi-circle of Brites around her.

“Look at this,” Captain Grace said, indicating the wrecked city district. “This cannot be what you want for San Martín!”

Captain Grace couldn’t help but worry about what tomorrow’s news would say about this as one of the Brites stepped towards her. There were still flames circling the Brite’s hands. She knew those flames. This was not the first time they had fought, but she was determined to make this morning the last. She prepared herself when he raised one of his hands.

“Who are _you_ to tell us what we should want for this city?” he laughed. “You keep fighting for these people, and for what? They’ll never accept you. They’ll never love you. You’re nothing to them.”

Captain Grace held her ground, one hand going to her side pocket as the Brites surrounded her.

“This is my home,” Captain Grace said, “this is all of our homes, and we must protect it. Why can’t you see that?”

“You want us to protect those who’d rather see us dead?” The flames wavered as the leader’s voice turned cold. He sighed and shook his head with a laugh. “No thanks.”

“Fine,” Captain Grace said. She pressed her distress button, knowing no help would come, and prepared to fight.

* * *

 

Miguel Locke Castillo took a seat in between his two friends, interrupting them mid-argument about Lucas’s tastes in fictional girls. Valeria snagged her Pepsi from his grasp and then ruffled his hair in thanks. Miguel shrugged her hand off of him, as Lucas pressed his orange juice to his forehead.

“I’m going to develop a complex,” Lucas declared, “if Val doesn’t learn to separate fiction from reality immediately.”

“Says the boy who wrote Starcrosser and Machina slash fics…” Valeria leaned back on the bench, narrowly avoiding Lucas’s orange juice lid. “Thanks, Miguel.”

“It was a dare!” Lucas protested.

“Valeria has a point,” Miguel said as he opened up his water bottle. “You’ve also written fanfiction about some of your favorite anime ships. Personally, I find it hard to believe those were all written on a dare.”

“Right?” Valeria said. “Just own up to the fact that your tastes are questionable, okay? I don’t think I’m the one that needs to be separating reality and fiction...”

“There is nothing _questionable_ about my love for these people. I know you lack an understanding of the complexities of shipping--”

“Moving on,” Miguel said to Valeria as Lucas continued his rant, “when is everyone else showing up?”

“You know how funny May is for everyone,” Valeria said. “I think I saw in the group chat that Emilio got held up with reporters or something? They need to chill. Speaking of people needing to chill...” Valeria waved a hand towards one of the fountains in the park and Miguel followed to where she was pointing. Lucas had been so loud that he hadn’t noticed it before, but there was some guy yelling at an old homeless man across the way. Miguel nudged Lucas who stopped ranting loud enough for Miguel to clearly hear what the man was yelling at the homeless man.

“Get out of here! People like you make me sick! You think that people want to see pieces of trash like you lazing around? The police need to do their damn job!”

Lucas shook his head. “Does he think people want to see him yelling at homeless people?”

“Tell me about it,” Valeria said. “He has no self awareness, right?”

“Where _are_ the police?” Miguel asked, looking around but the normally policed park seemed suspiciously empty of police as the evening drew closer.

Valeria rolled her eyes, “Probably out harassing teens, or ‘suspected Brites.’ You know cops.”

“Yeah,” Miguel said.

“Oh, wow, he just kicked him, did you see that?” Lucas said. The homeless man had rolled with the kick, and the other man looked like he was gearing up for another one.

“Ouch, that had to hurt--Miguel?”

Miguel ignored Valeria calling out to him and walked towards the fountain. “HEY!” Miguel reached the fountain and the two men. The homeless man was picking himself back up, his blanket all tangled around his legs. “Why don’t you leave him alone?”

The two man looked startled at his interruption. The attacker rolled his eyes.

“Back off, dude. This isn’t your business.”

“Maybe not,” Miguel said, “but anyone who can just walk past you harassing this old man is just as bad as you!”

“Listen, you meddling piece of shit. We don’t need hobo trash dirtying up our streets or piece of shit kids staying out past curfew. Don’t make me call the cops on you!”

“I’m almost 17!” Miguel snapped. “C’mon, this is Unity Park, and it was made for everyone!”

“Screw that!”

Miguel jumped back enough to miss the spit the other man aimed at his feet.

“Talking about _unity_ when we have bitches like Jimena running things and got disrespectful brats like you--”

“He’s hardly the disrespectful one!” the old man said. “I didn’t fight for this country for disrespectful _meddling piece of shits_ like you to come bothering me--”

“Then get off the damn street!” the man turned back to the older man, “Maybe you shoulda have died for the country, you worthless piece of shit.”

 _This guy is nuts_. Miguel looked back at the bench where his friends had been, but found no sign of them. As he looked back, the man was going back to kicking the old man. “Hey! Stop that!” Miguel grabbed at the man and tried to pull him back as he yelled at the homeless man, “Why aren’t you running away?”

The old man just looked at him and tugged up the blanket covering the lower half of his body to reveal a lack of legs with which to do that.

“Let go of me!” The man broke free of his grip, kicking at Miguel’s shin as he did so. Miguel winced and stumbled back. The man rammed his fist into his face. Miguel stayed on his feet, positioned himself in front of the old man, and held up his fists. Years of schoolyard fights had taught him that much at least. The man went to hit him again, so Miguel ducked down and rammed his head against his stomach. He felt something like victory when the man went down.

When the man tried to get back up, Miguel plopped down on his chest and held him down. The man might have a few years on him, but Miguel outweighed him. The man was shouting about the police and lawyers and making threats when help arrived. Valeria and Lucas had found the rest of their friends --among them were a pair of police officers who quickly called their on-duty coworkers to come and arrest the man.

While the cops did that, Miguel turned to the veteran and asked how he was doing.

“I’ve experienced worse,” the old man said.

“Can I help you with anything?” Miguel didn’t want to just leave the old man alone, but the old man shrugged.

“I’ll live, I’ve been living far longer than you. Don’t worry about me.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Just go out and leave this old man in peace.”

“I don’t want to just do that--”

“Miguel! Are you okay?”

“Isn’t that your girlfriend calling you? You better go and see what she wants.”

Miguel sighed, “Yeah, sure. I hope you’re able to stay safer, all right?” He went to offer the old man some of the change in his pocket, but the old man waved him off, so Miguel pocketed it. After that, he went and let Valeria fuss over him and he quickly nursed his bruises in peace and laughter as the setting sun gave way to quiet, balmy dusk.  

There was a lot of catching up to be done, especially since most of those gathered hadn’t seen each other since last year. Valeria and Lucas were both due to graduate at the top of their classes, a fact that many of their older friends cheered them about. Of course they weren’t able to pass a night gathered together without rehashing the latest news in the superhero circles: who was who, who was up and coming, and who wasn’t living up to their potential. No one talked about Captain Grace, by implicit agreement. Talk turned instead to the romantic entanglements of superheroes instead. Like how Machina and Starcrosser had been visiting orphanages together; the tabloids were predicting that they would be adopting soon. Lucas led the conversation on that, fiercely standing for the rights of people who had been cybernetically enhanced while Valeria’s crush of the evening argued against him. Miguel wandered from group to group in silence, letting the fragments of conversation he overheard carry him through the evening.

It helped that he had his phone to distract him, and that it allowed him to check on some of his favorite blogs. On this particular day, quite a few of them had updates and memorial posts. Today was the fifth anniversary, after all, of the fire that had killed Scarlet Avenger and Lady Jewel, the celebrated superheroine icons of San Martín’s Brite community. For him, a non-Brite, Scarlet Avenger and Lady Jewel had been his ideals given flesh.

Even five years later, it was still hard to believe that they were just gone--casually erased from existence by a fire. The absence of the two heroes had not been so easily filled. Many had tried to replace them, but few had lasted. The longest lasting one was Captain Grace who was almost universally hated in the San Martín region due to her many failings. In fact, thanks to her, the Fronteras Ciudadanas party had gained power to push through laws to make it illegal for Brites to be heroes. It wasn’t unlike what had occurred in the North with Nella and the International Heroes Force in 2016. Miguel paused at a post calling for more signatures on a petition against the anti-Brite party’s recent move to turn create an anti-vigilante law. He saved the post so that he could sign it when he got home to his desktop. For now, he made his way to his favorite blog: _thesaddestnerdworld_. As expected, the blog owner had posted that she would be spending the day drinking and would be responding to all the waiting hatemail in her inbox over the next few hours.

_As I must now do annually now or some shit lets get this over with. I’m drinking so answers might start getting messy. Apologies in advance._

_Q: why do u hate heros????_

_A: I do not hate heroes. Heroes are a necessary additional part of society as it is now. However, I do not think that the currently accepted standard sacrifices heros make are at all acceptable._

_Q: Why don’t you go seek out a therapist for your obvious depression instead of whining online about it?_

_A: I do seek out therapy, and my therapist has suggested that blogging about my day and experiences can also be therapeutic._

Miguel glanced up from his phone to check on his friends. Valeria was chatting up the older white girl who had argued against cybernetics earlier. The white girl looked disinterested in an eighteen-year-old, but Valeria was giving it her all. Lucas was trading superhero cards with some middle school kids from their school district. Miguel would have joined them, but he had left all his cards at home. He swiped down to refresh his screen, and his eyes met someone across the way.

Miguel saw himself reflected in the boy’s glasses--until the boy’s phone screen dimmed, and then he could clearly see the boy’s face highlighted softly in the lamplight. In the five years that had passed since he had first seen him, the other boy had grown to become one of the most attractive people Miguel had ever met. It was if God himself had hand selected each feature of the boy’s face to be perfect. Miguel stared for several long seconds, but the boy either didn’t notice or didn’t care; his eyes flickered downward back towards his phone before he tapped the screen and it came blazing back to life. Miguel turned back to his own phone, and noticed that _thesaddestnerdworld_ had updated a few more times since he had been distracted. As promised, each of her replies had become steadily more messy as she got more intoxicated. The 20th of May had hit her the hardest, it seemed.

It tended to hit a lot of people hard. That was why they were here. Someone from the organization in command of the gathering--Citizens for New Hope--called for them to form two lines. Volunteers went down the line handing out lit candles for the walk to the graveyard. Miguel could see ahead of him the mysterious boy whose name he had never learned, all those years ago, at the funeral.

Candle firmly in hand, he posted a photo on Mariposa and then pocketed his phone. He wasn’t a religious person, but he still found something comforting in the short prayer that Emilio offered up before they began their quiet walk towards the graveyard. Unlike earlier, no one offered up anything to say. They were deep in mourning for idols long since past.

* * *

 

Miguel set his candle down next to the others. The tombstones simply read the heroine’s superhero aliases and 01/01/2000--20/05/2020 to mark the dates when the two had first caught public attention and when they had died. Their civilian identities had never been known. Miguel couldn’t imagine a sadder fate than that. That lack of history, no one ever really knowing who they were or what efforts had been made by those two to keep saving the world… He stood to leave, and noticed that the beautiful boy from earlier was taking photographs of the gravestones, muttering underneath his breath. Miguel couldn’t help but remember the funeral, how closely the boy had been allowed to stand to the grave compared to all the other mourners, and he wondered who he was.  

As the last mourner placed their candle and left, Miguel approached the boy and cleared his throat.

The boy didn’t respond.

The silence turned awkward and heavy and Miguel wasn’t sure what to do, so he settled on waving a hand in front of the boy’s face. It took a few moments, but the boy finally looked up and said, “What?”

“What are you doing taking photos? You’re not a reporter, are you?”

The boy blinked, and lowered his phone, “Am I a reporter? Do I look old enough to be one?”

“Not really, but--”

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” the boy said. He pocketed his phone. “You shouldn’t linger in graveyards alone.”

“I wasn’t planning on it! I just--wait, are you leaving?”

“Yes. Goodnight.”

With that the boy walked off. Miguel shook his head and hurried on after him.

* * *

 

Miguel didn’t catch up with the boy, but he did find his friends waiting for him at the entrance to the graveyard.

“We were wondering when you’d come back,” Valeria said, “but we figured we’d let you mourn your only love in private.”

“My only love?” Miguel asked.

“Scarlet, you know, the only woman you’d ever go bi for?” Valeria shook her head, “Keep up, Miguel.”

Miguel rolled his eyes, “She was probably old enough to be my mom. Plus, she was gay.”

Lucas rubbed Miguel’s shoulder, “The heart wants what the heart wants.”

“Stop reading slash fic, Lucas,” Miguel said. He looked around and noticed that most of the other people from the vigil had wandered off. He didn’t see the boy from earlier. “Did you guys see another person come out of the graveyard? A bit before I did?”

“Oh, that pretty black boy with glasses?” Lucas asked, and when Miguel nodded he continued, saying, “He got into a car with some girl…”

“That wasn’t a girl, Lucas.” Valeria shook her head. “It was a boy.”

“Wearing that dress?”

“I have a sense for these things. Trust me. It was another guy.”

“Okay, okay, so...he left, huh?” Miguel said quickly. “Thanks. What should we do now?”

“Oh, well, there’s that new restaurant by the--no, wait,” Lucas said. “Why do you care about that pretty boy, Miguel? Are you into him?”

“Um, no. I just thought he was weird and wanted to make sure he wasn’t hanging around is all.” There was no need to explain about the funeral five years ago. Lucas reluctantly accepted that, so the three of them made their way to dinner.

Lucas and Miguel traded gossip on the latest superhero news while Valeria busied herself on her phone. Before Lucas could start waxing poetical about Machina’s virtues, Valeria set her phone in the center of the table and tapped on the screen. On the phone was a blurry image of several masked robbers escaping from the police after stealing from a bank. Only one thing was clearly visible, and that was the flames coming from one of the thieves hands towards the photographer. The headline read--

“ _El Príncipe Rojo_ strikes again!”

“Do you see my eyes rolling? Because they just did,” Lucas said. “Of all the names they could’ve come up with...”

Miguel shrugged. “You know how the media is. They were calling Scar the _Mistress of the Night_ for ages until she corrected them.”

“Doesn’t this make you mad? It’s guys like this that’s making it so Brites have such a bad rep right now!”

Miguel tapped on Valeria’s phone, and the image of the Brite using their fire powers popped back to life on-screen. “I don’t know Val, Brites have always been using their powers however they want, for good or bad reasons. This isn’t anything new?”

Valeria scoffed at him. “Of course it’s not. But try telling that to like Blanco and his whole ban on Brites using their powers publically.”

“Wait, what?”

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “And Val thinks _I’m_ the one living in a fantasy world.”

“No,” Valeria said, “He was like also this when that Machina versus Starcrosser stuff was happening in the United States. I just thought he would have learned a lesson by now. Jesus, Miguel, go learn how to research. Learn how to be a proper nerd! You are bringing shame to this family!”

“Fine,” Miguel pulled out his phone, “Let me check on something first and then I’ll go do that.” He checked on his various social media profiles (only fifteen likes on his Mariposa picture so far), and then on _thesaddestnerdworld_ to see if she had answered his yearly question. It wasn’t really a question--just something that he liked to send her year after year, to remind her that she wasn’t alone.

_Q: It’s the 5th year now. Do you think it’s easier or harder now that they’ve been gone for so long? In any case, I wish you a nice and safe night. Respectfully. -M_

_A: i don’t think itll ever be easier or ever be harder. time dulls all wounds, i do know that. thanks for the well wishes. -A_

 

* * *

 

“ _...In the aftermath of the tragic attack at La Lux we must not come apart as a community, but come together. We cannot allow the hatred of a few to tear apart our city, our nation!_ That was what Mayor Salvador had to say after the attack yesterday at La Lux. Police Chief Santana has stated that she thinks it was not related to the recent uptick in Brite gangs.”

Miguel was sitting at his desk, listening to a replay of the local news via its YouTube account. As usual, things were not looking good in the least for his city. Since the deaths of its two heroes it had slowly been falling apart. Something had to be done.

Miguel sighed, and went on rocketpunch’s forum for San Martín. He posted on the open discussions page about the ongoing violence and asked what they thought could be done about it. Lucas, under his handle of _memelution_ , had an immediate response to that.

_memelution: humans suck and they only start paying attention when there’s someone to keep them in line! i’m praying that m &m from san josé comes here cuz we really need her. _

His door opened, and his sister Camila came in. “Hey nerd, what do you want for lunch?”

“Are you offering to cook?”

“What? No. Not with your weird diet. I’m offering to pay. Guess who got all As on her last semester’s finals?” Camila leaned against the doorjamb and played with her hair even as she grinned at him.

“Congratulations. I want a vegan pizza from that one place. Number’s on the fridge. Thanks.” Miguel got up and ushered her out from his room. “Oh, where’s Bianca?”

“Downstairs, catching up on all her telenovelas. Then she has to do her lesson plans...which is so sad. Homework over breaks should be illegal.”

“Tell me about it.” They shared a sigh of long suffering and parted ways. Miguel shut the door and then looked around his room. Ever since he could remember he had been collecting paraphernalia relating to his favorite heroes. He had an original signed poster from Scarlet Avenger before her death above his desk. There was a collection of superhero action figures on his bookcase along with superhero guidebooks and encyclopedias from various years and countries in English and Spanish. All this time, he had been following their lives and wishing he could be one of them.

To be a hero meant that a person was better in some way. Super smart. Super gifted. Super other something. An alien. A God almost amongst humans. A Brite probably. Yet, Miguel wasn’t any of that. He was just Miguel Locke Castillo, seventeen-year-old biracial chubby gay kid.

However, that would have to be enough.  Miguel decided that he was going to save his city even if he had to do it alone.

That in mind, he remembered something he had seen a few years ago on _thesaddestnerdworld._ She’d referred to it as _Guidelines On How To Not Meet An Early Death_ and included a link to it on the main menu of her blog, but Miguel thought he had a better title for it. _The Rules Of Being A Hero._ There were eight of them in total.  He had just some minor corrections to make as he read through her list.

First Rule: ~~Don’t~~ Be a Hero.

Second Rule: ~~You fucking idiot, fucking~~ listen to me.

Third Rule: Tell your people.

Fourth Rule: Healthy communication or ~~No to~~  BFFs.

Fifth Rule: Love ~~is~~ for idiots.

Sixth Rule: Trauma Conga Line.

Seventh Rule: To err is human. To kill is not the devil.

Eighth Rule: Live no matter what.

Miguel could probably come up with more rules along the way, but these were some pretty decent guidelines. That in mind, if he was going to do the hero thing, he should probably come up with a good name. The name was everything. He looked at all his action figures and hero posters for inspiration, but none came. Finally Camila called him down for lunch--he went down wondering if he should tell his sisters before or after he started being a hero. Probably after, so they wouldn’t try to talk him out of it.

As a new hero, Miguel made a list of things he needed to do: coming up with a name for himself (hard), getting a costume (maybe ask Valeria?), telling his loved ones (that could wait), and keeping himself and his family safe (priority number one). Due to recent laws against teenage vigilantes, he would have to be careful about when he did this.

Miguel spent four hours looking up materials for a costume before noticing the time. He decided to just finally go out and _do_ something-- costume or no costume--and went to bed.

* * *

 

 **Lucas:** miguel i know you can see this why aren’t you answring?

 **Val:** maaaaybe he’s in the bathroom and his com’s just on the chat window?

 **Lucas:** val that is legit annoying doesn’t he understand i have vital memes to import on him and he is ignoring me int this time of my need???

 **Val:** you just want to show you what you showed me which is your “sick anime girls.” miguel won’t care.

 **Lucas:** no one appreciates the fine arts anymore.

 

Miguel ignored his phone buzzing and kept running after the purse snatcher. The San Martín streets were crowded with people who kept stumbling into his path, but he forced his way past them. Miguel kept up with the purse snatcher who kept turning corners in an attempt to lose him. They were leaving the commercial area behind, heading into the residential areas. The man tripped over the uneven sidewalk, and Miguel was right there behind him. A quick, rough yank on the man’s arm sent them both to the ground. The man wiggled away from Miguel, and there was a moment when Miguel got a clear look at his face. They had to be the same age, he couldn’t help but think. What had shifted, flipped to change them to what they were?

What surprised Miguel most was that the snatcher was fighting for air and Miguel wasn’t even that winded. They rolled around on the ground, Miguel fighting to get the purse back and the snatcher trying to keep it, until suddenly there he heard someone say they were calling the police. The snatcher dropped the purse and took off running. Miguel looked at the bag, and then at the other boy, before heading back the way he had come. He found the owner of the purse leaning against a lamp post. Miguel handed her the recovered purse and walked another way before she could thank him for too much longer (or call the cops).

He felt good. Like he had really done something.

 

 **Miguel:** While I do appreciate the fine arts, I can’t appreciate giant breasts on fox girls, sorry, Lucas!

 **Lucas:** these are a endangered species miguel

 **Val:** why am i friends with you again?

 **Lucas:** you kind of adopted miguel and i came along as a package deal. twin deal two for one! you know you love me val~

 

Miguel went to respond in the group chat about how much Valeria truly did love Lucas when he noticed that he wasn’t alone. There were about half a dozen, maybe more people total closing in on him. A few of them had Brite traits that made them stand out as non-human, such as spikes lining their arms and horns. The leader stepped up to him and looked him up and down.

“You lost?” She was one of the non-human Brites.

“Kind of? I just was heading back to my bus stop, though.” Everything in him was screaming that he needed to get away. _I do not have enough experience points to be taking her on_ , he couldn’t help but think, and he must have smiled at the thought.

“Did I say something funny?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” he said. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, I just haven’t see you in this area before. You have to excuse me if we found your presence suspicious.”

“Sorry, I’ve had some misadventures tonight and was just going to go home now.”

She tilted her head, “Misadventures? Of what sort?”

“Getting lost, mostly.” Miguel said. Out of the corner of his eye, Miguel could see one of the gang members answering his phone with a grimace.

“It’s Rafael,” the man said. Several of the others started grinning, before the leader shook her head.

“That brat…” The woman frowned. “Someone, escort this kid to the bus stop.”

“I don’t really…” Miguel went to protest but then one of the larger Brites clasped him on his shoulder, and squeezed hard.

“You need me to see him home, too, Julia?”

The blond woman shook her head. “We have work to do.” She stepped up to Miguel and looked down at him, even though he was taller than her. “Past time for children to go home.”

Miguel was silent as he looked at her. He hadn’t ever realized that someone’s eyes could be as dead looking as hers, and yet the person still be living. They were going to do something, he was right _here_ and yet was powerless to stop it. What kind of hero couldn’t even stand up to a few gangsters?

“Bus stop,” Julia said, and then turned away from him. The larger Brite gripping his shoulder, squeezed again, and Miguel winced as the pain registered. The Brite man stayed next to him until he got on the bus, and his face, and Julia’s cold eyes were all he could see as he made his way home.

Miguel realized something important.

He could not do this alone.

* * *

 

To: [ scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com ](http://www.sammyaworks.com/)

From: [ news@rocketpunch.com ](http://www.sammyaworks.com/)

** ICYMI: Recent News in San Martín **

 

Captain Grace Continues to Fall from Grace? $40 Million in Property Damaged!

By Alano Ortiz Soto

**Click to read more**

Popular host Cortez Ortega Gil fuels flames that President Martinez Diaz is a Brite after her veto on an anti-Brite law...

**Click to watch full video**

Victim’s families demand lawsuit against Captain Grace! Estrellas’ Superhero League is Silent!

By Alano Ortiz Soto

**Click to read more**

**Hot New Forum Topics You Missed:**

_Captain Graceless?_

_5 Years Later: Is San Martín Doomed?_

_…_

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Issue #02 should be posted before the month is out. 
> 
>  
> 
> Translations of Spanish used  
>  _Note: as stated in my detailed AN some phrases just do not translate!_
> 
> Fronteras Ciudadanas: Citizen borders. 
> 
> El Príncipe Rojo: The Red Prince.
> 
> La Luz: The Light.
> 
> Telenovelas: Shorter running but way more complicated form of dramas/soap operas.
> 
>  
> 
> Fun Fact #1:  
>  _What is Mariposa_? 
> 
> Mariposa was created as an alternative to other popular photo/video sharing apps/social media platforms that is specifically targeted at teens like Miguel. The creators also wanted to fight against how other popular apps cameras wouldn’t be able to “sense” or “detect” darker skinned people properly. 
> 
> Comments (either of appreciation or constructive critique), Kudos, fanart, etc, are all welcome here as they help serve encouragement for me to keep writing. 
> 
> ~Sammya


	2. Issue #02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miguel steps out into the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view the much more detailed Author's Note [here!](https://www.sammyaworks.com/blogs/an-cd-v1-02/)

Miguel’s epiphany from his run-in with the Brite gang lingered. He reread The Rules of Being A Hero and his own notes, and took notes on his notes. There was a core idea uniting all the rules: a hero needed support. If he had been killed that night, his family would never have known.

That was why _thesaddestnerdworld_ ’s third rule was _Tell your people_ \--keeping this a secret wouldn’t be wise. However, Miguel already knew what his family would say if he told them. Who else was left for him to be honest with? Valeria and Lucas?

But how to tell them? This was serious and…

Maybe it was time he consulted the source.  

The owner of _thesaddestnerdworld, “_ A”, was obviously someone who knew what she was talking about. He went on the _thesaddestnerdworld_ and easily found her email. That was fine with him, but what should he say? Glancing at his Zole friend list told him that Val was (still) awake.

 

 **Miguel:** If I send an email to A do you think she’ll respond?

 **Val:** that lady who runs nerdworld? maybe! i used to send her invites to the candlelight vigils and she’d tell me she couldn’t make it so i stopped trying.

 **Val:** seems like she likes drinking on that day in peace.

 **Miguel:** Thanks, Val! I’ll do it. Just have to figure out what to say.

 **Val:** what do you wanna ask her anyway?

 **Miguel:** Oh!

 **Miguel:** I was thinking about making a superhero comic for passing out SupaCon, so I thought I’d ask her if I could use those guidelines on her site.

 

Miguel felt bad about the lie, but this wasn’t the sort of conversation you dropped on a person at 6 A.M. Besides, Lucas wasn’t around; if Miguel told Valeria before Lucas, or vice versa, there would be hell to pay.

 

 

 

> To: [ admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com ](mailto:admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com)
> 
> From: [ scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com ](mailto:scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com)
> 
> Subject: Questions about Guidelines On How To Not Meet An Early Death
> 
>  
> 
> A,
> 
> Hi, this is M aka the nerd who always sends you well wishes each year. I’m writing today because I have been inspired by the Guidelines hosted on your blog and would like to create a superhero comic series around them, if possible.
> 
>  
> 
> If not, just let me know. If it is cool, I had a few questions I’d like to ask for clarification purposes?
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> M
> 
>  

He had two replies by the time he woke up:

 

 

 

> To: [ scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com ](mailto:scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com)
> 
> From: [ admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com ](mailto:admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com)
> 
> Subject: RE: Change your email address
> 
>  
> 
> M,
> 
> Please change your email address ASAP. I would be happy to answer questions from you concerning my guidelines but I think they’re self explanatory. What type of superhero comic will it be?
> 
>  
> 
> Send me a reply back from a different email address if possible.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> A
> 
>  
> 
> To: [ scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com ](mailto:scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com)
> 
> From: [ admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com ](mailto:admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com)
> 
> Subject: RE: Addendum
> 
>  
> 
> M,
> 
> I was informed that you might hesitate to change a screen name that you’ve probably had for so long without proper reasons. Here is a list of reasons:
> 
> -Create your own unique brand that doesn’t link you to fandomy interests
> 
> -Won’t need numbers
> 
> -Can get an account with a more legit domain than rocketpunch
> 
> -More professional in the adult world
> 
>  
> 
> A

 

So he would need a new handle. Miguel turned to his two friends for assistance. After a fierce debate over his email handle, Lucas asked Miguel to expand on the superhero comic idea, which eventually led to Valeria pulling out her tablet to draw concepts for the story.

 

 **Lucas:** ahhhh the only thing that this story is missing is the delicate moe type

 **Val:** everytime you talk about moe an angel falls to hell just fyi

 **Miguel:** As much fun as it is to make fun of Lucas...

 **Miguel:** I have to ask if you can you send me those sketches, Val?

 **Lucas:** et toi miguel et toi???

 **Val:** yeah i can do that gimme five

 **Lucas:** i just got stabbed in the back by my brother and u wanna talk art

 **Lucas** **_changed group name to_ ** _et tu brute_

 

Val sent over the artwork. Miguel fell in love and was determined to base his costume off of one of the designs.  Despite spending all his allowance on supplies to do so, Miguel was starting to think that things were looking up.   

* * *

 

 **Miguel:** I need help.

 **Lucas:** don’t let society trick you into thinking that! you’re fine as you are miguel anime is an art form superheroes are a way of life there is no shame in loving them

 **Lucas** _sent an image. Open?_

 **Val:** help with what?

 **Miguel:** Are you guys free to meet up today or tomorrow? I need to tell you something.

 **Val:** now i’m worried. i should be free in an hour or two!

 **Lucas:** i’ll be done rewatching magical girls of despair academia in like 30 mins

 **Miguel:** You make it so easy to mock you, Lucas. Russo’s in an hour?

 

“That took forever,” Valeria muttered when she and Lucas sat down. “What’s up?”

“Guys, I need to come clean with you-”

“Is it boy trouble?” Lucas asked.

“What?” Miguel shook his head, waving Lucas off. “No.”

“Lucas,” Val said, drawing out his name, “yes offense, but you aren’t a love guru for mastering a few dating sims.”

Lucas moaned, folded his arms on the table, and rested his head in the crook of his arm. “Fine. I can tell when I’m not welcome.”

“Yeah, okay,” Miguel said. “So, like I was saying… I need to come clean.” Lucas didn’t bother to lift his head up, but he did tilt it towards towards the sound of Miguel’s voice. Valeria held out a hand; Miguel looked at it with confusion. “What?”

“Do you need to hold my hand?”

“Why?”

“For this confession.”

“No thanks?”

“Just take her hand, dude,” Lucas said. Miguel took Val’s hand.

“So,” Valeria said. “Miguel, what have you done?”

“I lied to you both. I’m not actually making a superhero comic.”

“Miguel, wait,” said Lucas.“Does this mean I won’t be immortalized in a comic--wait. Why have you been so busy, then? Do you realize how much quality bro time we’ve missed out on?” Val nudged Lucas with her elbow. “Okay. Then what _have_ you been doing?”

Miguel took a deep breath. “I have been… patrolling…”

“Patrolling...?” Valeria asked.

“The streets. The city. Like...you know. Being a hero.”

“Wait.” Lucas picked up Valeria’s cup and drained it in one swallow. “You’re a hero? Since when?”

“Since school got back in.”

Valeria let go of his hand, and took her cup back from Lucas. “Miguel, you’re not a brite. You can’t just become a hero!”

“Val, lower your voice, could you?” Miguel grumbled. “I’ve been working out. I’ve lost some weight! I’m starting to build muscle, and I run fast. I’ve been fine so far.” Aside from that encounter with Julia and her gang… but that was not the point.

“A hero, huh…” Lucas said. “What does your costume even look like?”

“I don’t have one. I’m not good with that stuff. I was wondering if you could help me?”

“Huh,” Lucas said. “Why do you even want to be a hero?”

“Haven’t you guys gotten tired of how things are? No one else is willing to do what needs to be done for San Martín. I realized back in May, after that homeless man was attacked, that something needs to be done. So why not me?”

“Lord, give me strength…” Valeria muttered. “Whatever, I guess I’m going to be in charge of creating the costume, since Lucas is _useless._ I’m going to help you with this because I don’t want you lying to me again, okay? Can you promise me you’ll be careful?”

Miguel nodded. He hadn’t thought that lying would hurt her. The rules were right: honesty was the best policy. “I promise. That’s in the rules, after all, that no matter what I keep living.”

“Rules?” Valeria said. “What rules?”

“Oh, well…” Miguel pulled out his phone. “They’re actually guidelines but…”

* * *

 

Miguel arrived home to find his Abuela Sofia in the living room, patiently listening to Camila gush about her upcoming graduation.

When Camila stopped for air, his grandmother turned to him and patted his arm, before grinning wide. “Miguel, don’t tell me that you have been working out?”

Camila leaned forward in her armchair. “He must be… there is a bit less of him now.”

Miguel shrugged. “I’ve been making use of Bianca’s gym.”

Camila’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

“For the usual reasons,” Miguel said. “Abuela, how’s Tia Cecilia?”

“Cecilia? Oh, she’s a menace! I told her, _I gave birth to you!_ so she needs to let me be. She says that my doctor is wrong. He wants me to be more active, but that girl says I need to rest. All the time, rest. _Don’t get so worked up, Mama_ , she says. I am 86, not dead--”

Miguel continued to listen and he nodded at all the right places. His thoughts couldn’t help but turn to his own concerns. What if Miguel were to announce that he was becoming a hero? They had been lukewarm when he had come out as gay… in fact, to this day he questioned if that reaction would have changed if his father was alive. Would they have been more or less supportive of him? He couldn’t bring himself to eat.

“Miguel?” His mother called for him several times, but Miguel only responded when Camila poked him. “Have you really been working out?”

Miguel shrugged. “Yeah. I just thought it was time to lose some weight.”

Camila sipped from her wineglass. “He’s aiming for some guy, I’m telling you, Ma.”

Miguel rolled his eyes. “You should stop projecting, Camila.”

Bianca and their mother both sighed. His mother said gently, “Whatever the reason, I’m very proud of you, mijo.”

Miguel shifted in his chair.The third rule flashed in his mind.

_Tell your people._

_Your mom knows, your siblings definitely know, and your SO (we will talk about this about later) is suspicious, so just do it._

His aggravated sigh was all the warning he gave before he said, “I’m a hero, Mom. That’s why I’ve really been working out.”

The room was dead silent until Camila laughed, Bianca and his mother sighed again, and his grandmother patted his hand.

“Mijo,” his mother said, “you know real life isn’t like those comics you read? You don’t _decide_ to become a hero.”

“I didn’t just--I want to do this! Mom, how else would we have heroes if people didn’t decide to become one?”

“Oh, my god, mija! Leave Miguel alone,” Abuela Sofia said.“Your sister and you, and all the other children did stupid things. It’s just Miguel’s turn now, is all.”

“Don’t be like that, Mama. My son has outstanding grades that he will need to maintain. The time for being silly is not now. Miguel understands that, don’t you, mijo? Being a superhero is not his path.”

“Being a hero doesn’t mean I can’t still go to university, Mom.”

Abuela Sofia laughed. “Ah, my Ana, I see trouble in your future.”

Miguel stayed quiet and let his mother, sisters, and grandmother argue over him until he lost their attention enough to duck into his room.

The Third Rule hadn’t talked about what to do if they asked him to quit. Maybe that was because A knew that once someone had picked this path, there was no going back.

* * *

 

Miguel winced as Val took her thick black marker and scribbled all over the designs he had printed out.“Why are you doing that?”

“I didn’t design this with you in mind, so they won’t work. What’s your fighting style like?” Valeria sat in a beanbag chair with a sketchbook, coloring pencils, and her eraser within reach.

Miguel settled at his desk and considered her question. “I don’t have a ‘fighting style.’ Maybe I should take up judo?”

“Maybe,” Valeria said. Her voice was distant as she went back to her sketchpad. Miguel let her be.

 

 

 

> To: [ admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com ](mailto:admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com)
> 
> From: [ juanlocke@confessionals.com ](mailto:juanlocke@confessionals.com)
> 
> Subject: Changed my email address  
> 
>  
> 
> A,
> 
> This is M emailing you from a new account as requested. Juan is my middle name so you can refer to me with that if you want? I don’t really mind.
> 
>  
> 
> I’m still working out the kinks, but it would be an ensemble superhero story where instead of following Estrellas’ Superhero League rules, they follow their own--aka your guidelines.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Juan

“Miguel, come look at these!” Valeria said. “A few of these are beyond what I can create myself, but they’re cool!” She handed him the sketchbook and he flipped through the sketches. Most of them were red with gray and black accents. He kept coming back to one in particular, and looked up to see a smile on her face--this one had to be her favorite, too. “I left a space on the back for a logo. You never did tell me what your superhero name was going to be.”

“I haven’t made one up yet.”

Val sighed. “Of course you haven’t.”

Lucas came in bearing a box.“Hey, losers,” he said, setting the box on Miguel’s bed. Valeria asked, “What’s in the box?”

Lucas winked.“Supplies for Miguel’s superhero debut!” He started pulling things out of his box.

“Is that pepper spray?” Valeria asked.

“Knockout gas. It’ll put the bad guys to sleep for a little bit according to my sources.”

“Lucas,” Valeria said. “You can’t calculate the proper dosage for every person Miguel could fight! You could have him kill someone!”

Miguel shook his head. “Pass!”

Lucas sighed. “Fine. Next we have some restraints--basic, but they’ll do the trick.” He held up a black pair of handcuffs and then tossed them aside. Next he held up a small red baton and grinned.

“Where did you get all this stuff?” asked Valeria.

“Brother’s credit card.” Lucas rolled his eyes. “I just have to pay him back or get pictures of any Bak Sun cosplayers I find.”

“Every time when I think you cannot get any more extra,” said Valeria, “I remember your brother exists.”

“What else is in there?” Miguel asked.

“Well, let’s see…”

* * *

 

Valeria and Lucas ended up crashing at Miguel’s place for the rest of the weekend.

They finished his costume. It wasn’t the design that he and Valeria had loved, but it did the job. It was red and black with a close fitting hood. Lucas refashioned a belt so he had something to hang his gear from. Miguel felt silly, but his friends told him that he had been silly from the moment he decided to become a hero.

He went on patrol again, this time with Val and Lucas’ blessing. People reacted to him differently, with the costume. Miguel stopped three shoplifters in the span of two hours and got rewarded with smiles from grateful shopkeepers.

Miguel was congratulating himself on time well spent when he saw _him_. Miguel didn’t know his name, other than the fact that that this was the third time now he had run into the beautiful boy in public. First at the funeral for Scarlet Avenger and Lady Jewel so long ago, next at the graveyard just a few short months ago now, and now out here? San Martín was a big city, but Miguel couldn’t help but feel like this was a sign. He just didn’t know if it was a good or bad sign.

 

 

> To: [ juanlocke@confessionals.com ](mailto:juanforjustice@confessionals.com)
> 
> From: [ admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com ](mailto:admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com)
> 
> Subject: Your comic
> 
>  
> 
> Juan,
> 
> You might be better served by coming up with your own rules for being a hero than following someone else’s guidelines as least as far as your story goes. If you were to get this published you would have to pay me a lot of money and I’d rather not take money from a young creator such as yourself. I’m more than happy to serve as a mentor as you think things through with your comic though!
> 
>  
> 
> A

 

Another late afternoon found Miguel on patrol in the heart of San Martín. He was in his full costume, and found just his presence was enough to bring a smile to people’s faces. Some people stopped him to take selfies with him, and others thanked him for being there. Still others seemed to think twice about committing crimes or quickly, quietly returned what they stole once they saw him.

They all called him the _Neo Scarlet Avenger_.

 

 **Miguel:** They’re calling me the Neo Scarlet Avenger, guys.

 **Lucas:** embrace it for it is who you are

 **Val:** oh well that’s nice of them.

 

Miguel wasn’t sure if _nice_ was the word he would have used, but he let it go. He came out of the restroom, got a bottled water, and settled down on the curb to drink it. As the evening wore on, the crowds were getting rowdy. Curfew would kick in once the streetlights came on.He was getting up to toss his water bottle when he heard a cry of “Amelia!” and could hear barking and a child’s screams getting closer.He saw a blur of motion as he turned to see a small child zooming past him, chasing after a small dog. The kid was heading directly into traffic. Miguel ran after her, neatly scooping her up in his arms, and yanking on the dog’s leash as well. They stumbled and then fell to the curb. Traffic stopped as drivers fought to see what had gone wrong. But the squirming child in Miguel’s arms was safe

A sharp cry of “Amelia!” was all he heard before the young child was pulled out of his arms. It didn’t take long for Miguel to recognize her--she was Sara Santana Pérez, the mayor’s wife. The girl he had just saved would be the mayor’s daughter--Amelia Salvador Santana. “Oh thank you, thank you,” Sara cried, “Oh, my baby, my darling baby girl!” Amelia protested about her mother’s grip. Sara held out a hand to help Miguel off of the ground. Behind her he could see her security team;  they were attracting a lot of attention. People were taking pictures _._

“I’m glad she’s okay. Are you okay?” Amelia nodded. Miguel realized he still had the dog’s leash, so he handed it over.

“Oh, thank you. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name? Are you a new hero?”

“Yeah, I’m…”Someone in the crowd called out, “Neo Scarlet Avenger!”

“I don’t know how I can ever repay you, Neo Avenger,” Sara said. “My husband will want to thank you as well!”

Another flash of a camera, and Miguel flinched. “Maybe some other time?” Before Sara could protest he said, “Take care!” before he pushed his way out of the crowd. He couldn’t stick around and  have his face plastered on the news. His mother would kill him.

* * *

 

 

 

> To: [ admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com ](mailto:admin@thesaddestnerdworld.com)
> 
> From: [ juanlocke@confessionals.com ](mailto:juanlocke@confessionals.com)
> 
> Subject: My comic
> 
>  
> 
> A,
> 
> Thanks for offering to be my mentor! You’re very kind to offer that! Should I send over some of my sketches and outlines for the comic so you can get a general idea of what the comic will look like?
> 
> Juan

 

“So, front page news,” Lucas said as they walked together to Valeria’s house. “I’m so proud of you, my son.”

“Okay, first off, I’m _older_ than you.”

“You could have died by running into traffic, but you saved the mayor’s daughter. They might knight you for that. Have you seen what some of these other news bloggers are calling you, though? They’re calling you things like the _rogue knight_ and junk. Like Neo Scarlet Avenger isn’t good enough for them!”

“Wait, have you been actively searching out articles on this? On _me_?”

“Have you not been?” Lucas looked at him with concern. Miguel shook his head, and Lucas sighed. “I’ll send you some links. It’s important to stay aware of what the public thinks of you. Maintaining a good public persona is a key part of being a hero or else you end up public enemy numero uno.”

“What would I do without you?” Miguel asked.

“Be stuck with Val and suffer.”

“I heard that.” Valeria opened up the gate and ushered them in. “You’re both early.”

Miguel shrugged. “I really don’t want to be home when my mom gets there.”

“Right, the article,” Valeria sighed. “Let’s go to my room and discuss exactly where you went wrong, Miguel. I didn’t raise you this way.”

“See?” Lucas said. “We are your parents.”

“It makes sense when Val says it since she’s older!” Miguel followed Valeria to her room. It was like the inside of a clothing store had exploded. “How many costumes are you even making this year?”

“I’m going to go as Lady Jewel,” Valeria said. “I need help narrowing down my outfit.”

“We live to serve,” Lucas declared. He picked up one half of an outfit and whistled. “Ah, yes, this is from 2004’s Alien Invasion battles, right?”

“Right. Do you think it would reveal too much?”

Miguel considered it. “I have no idea?”

Valeria sighed, “Okay, that’s a no. Next is from her solo era.”

“Ah, yes the time of the great split,” Lucas said. “Rumors are still going around about that, you know? Sadly, since they were so private we’ll never know the truth of their brief breakup.”

Miguel shrugged, saying, “They earned that privacy after all they did.”

The three fell quiet for a moment. Valeria snapped out of it first, “Okay, Miguel’s turn. Are you going to go as Neo Scarlet Avenger?”

“Maybe?”

“If you do, that means less work for me. I have a new design ready,” Valeria said.

“Since you already made one, I guess I can’t say no,,” Miguel said.

“Awesome,” Lucas said. “Con is in a week and a half, let’s get to work.”

* * *

 

Miguel somehow managed to avoid his mother in the aftermath of his picture ending up on the front page. Bianca had confronted him about it already, but she had left his punishment largely up to their mother. The con plans were continuing to move along, and Val had already finished what she was calling “the 2.0” of his costume design. He decided to take it for a quick patrol around her neighborhood, where it was always peaceful.

Miguel was passing an apartment complex a bit away from Valeria’s house when he tripped over something sprawled out in the middle of the sidewalk. He heard a grumpy _mew_ as he rubbed at his scrapped face and turned to see the fattest cat he’d ever seen in his life, staring up at him. There was a collar around its neck, and a silver-plated name tag, which Miguel couldn’t read. The cat stared at him without moving. Miguel stared back and wondered if he should call animal control. There was a sharp cry of “Jing Yi!” from the apartment complex’s gates, and Miguel looked over to see that boy he kept running into. Seriously?

The boy walked out of the apartment complex and scooped up the cat like it didn’t weigh fifty pounds. Only then did he seem to notice Miguel on the ground. They stared at each for a moment, and then the other boy raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the Neo Scarlet Avenger doing here?”

“Patrolling the area,” Miguel said, thankful for his hood hiding his face.

The boy laughed, and it was a cruel laugh, that made Miguel hate the bite to it. “What a joke. You’re doing this all wrong..”

“Wow, thanks, I’ve never heard that before.” Miguel stood up and brushed off his suit and turned to go. His first impression back in the graveyard a few months ago had been right; this boy was a jerk. He turned and walked away..

“If you’re going to around calling yourself the Neo Scarlet Avenger, I can help you learn how to live up to her legacy.”

That made Miguel turn back to look at the other boy, cat still in his arms.

“Why would you want to do that?” Miguel asked.

“Let’s just say I have an interest in her legacy,” he said. He tapped his cat on its side and it stopped scratching his arms. “And like I said, you’re doing it all wrong--I’m offering my corrective services. Take or leave them, up to you.”

“What am I doing wrong?”

“What aren’t you? But I can help.”

Miguel was silent, trying to figure out what he should do, before he finally said, “You don’t even know my name.”

“You don’t know mine either.”

Miguel waited to see if the boy would give him his name, but after a moment just sighed, “Fine. Okay, sure. Whatever, I’m Miguel.”

The boy gave a small smile at that. Miguel couldn’t help but smile back.

“I’m Teo,” he said. “Do you have your phone on you? You can text me and we’ll set up a time to discuss things in further. Jing Yi is in need of dinner, so I’ll text you after I feed her.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Miguel said. Teo told him his number and Miguel sent a text.

“We’ll arrange to meet sometime next week.” Teo shifted Jing Yi in his arms, “Goodnight, Miguel,” and cat and owner both went back into the complex.

* * *

 

“You went for a walk, you got some boy’s number, and now you’re texting him?” Valeria asked. Lucas was sitting there silently,and Miguel was getting worried for him. “No, wait, and not just a boy, but a boy who wants to help you be a better hero?”

“His name is Teo and he says I’m not living up to Scarlet Avenger’s legacy correctly. It was like I was personally offending him… I have a confession to make: tonight wasn’t the first time I’ve seen him. Do you remember in May when we did the candlelight vigil? I also saw him then. And I’ve seen him a few more times over the months since. He’s not the type you can easily ignore.”

Lucas finally spoke up, “So he’s super hot? Wow, Miguel I didn’t take you for the shallow type.”

“Lucas,” Valeria said, “your type is big-titty anime girls, so please call Miguel shallow again.”

“Val, how dare you! I do not discriminate against medium-sized titties like that!”

Miguel held up two hands to ask for peace between his friends. “We’re going to meet during SupaCon at the cafe and have a quick bite to talk about what I’m doing wrong and how to fix it. You guys can come if you want. Be my moral support and such, I might need it.”

Valeria reached over and patted his head. “My poor Miguel, did he bully you?”

“He called me a joke,” Miguel said.

“But you want his help?” Valeria said. “Why?”

“I’m just curious about what he has to say, really.”

Lucas grinned. “And this has nothing to do with him being hot, huh?”

Miguel frowned, “He’s… okay looking.”

“All right now,” Valeria said. “We have got to stop getting distracted. SupaCon is in two more days. Lucas, are you really sure you wanna go as yourself? No costume at all?”

“None at all.”

“Fine by me,” Valeria said, “Then… we might actually be done? Good job, me?”  

“Yes, Mom.”  

* * *

 

Miguel was feeling pretty good about things until he came home and found his mother waiting for him in the living room. She had the newspaper on her lap and a mug of tea in her hands.

“Miguel,” his mother said.

He closed the front door and locked it and came and sat on the loveseat. She looked tired instead of mad. Her greying hair was braided down her back, and her uniform was freshly pressed. Her shift had to start soon, and yet she had sat up waiting for him. Miguel couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“You saw the article, huh?”

“Don’t, just don’t, mijo. Do you have any idea of how dangerous that was? You could be dead! ”

“If I hadn’t been there someone else would have died, Mom.” His mother flinched as if he had hit her, but he continued on. “I didn’t save her because I was acting like a hero, but because that’s the type of person you raised me to be, you know? I couldn’t have just let someone die in front of me.”

“Mijo! I did not raise you to be so disrespectful. You made me a promise. What if you had died?”

“I get it! I swear I do. But like I could die at any time doing anything. If I have to die, then I’d rather it be because I saved someone else.”

“You are too much like him, mijo,” his mother waved her hands in a flurry, “You both just do whatever you please… I knew we shouldn’t have named you _Miguel_.”

This was an old complaint of his mother’s. “Mom, think of it like this… you and Dad, you went into healthcare because you wanted to help people. You’re doing what makes you happy, so why can’t I?”

“I want you to be safe more than happy, Miguel. I want all my children to be safe, no mother wants to bury her children!” She sighed, and shook her head. “You’re just going to keep doing what you want, aren’t you?”

“I want to help people.”

“But who is going to help you, mijo? Who is going to keep you safe?”

Miguel paused, and then smiled at her.“You are. Bianca will. I’m doing this because this is how you raised me, and I can’t just turn my back on people in need.”

“Oh, be quiet. I’m not okay with this, Miguel. I told you to stop.”

“I’ll think about it, okay?” His mother sighed, and then stood up to hug him tightly. “I’m not going to die, Mom.”

* * *

 

To: [ scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com ](mailto:scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com)

From: [ news@rocketpunch.com ](mailto:news@rocketpunch.com)

ICYMI: Recent News in San Martín 

Captain Grace foils bank robbery without damages? Is this a new shift in the heroine’s methods?

By Febe Mendoza Ramos

**Click to read more**

New Scarlet Avenger (?) saves Mayor’s daughter! Updated Pictures!

By Alano Ortiz Soto

**Click to read more**

Cortez Ortega Gil on if Estrellas’ Superhero League telling Capt Grace to stand trial is too late!

**Click to watch video**

**Hot New Forum Topics You Missed:**

_Did Superhero League go too far? Judgement hour for CG!_

_San Martín Westside’s Crime Rate at 5 yr high!_

_…_

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_Unsubscribe ○ Update Info_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Issue #03 should be posted next month.
> 
> Fun Fact #02:
> 
> “Neo Scarlet Avenger” was not what Miguel was going to be called originally. For a while I was calling him the Orange Avenger and then realized how silly that was. During the course of editing, my editor suggested “Kid Scarlet Avenger” as a joke. The development of Miguel’s superhero name will be explored in upcoming chapters!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Feel free to send me comments either below or [over at my twitter!](https://twitter.com/sammyaworks)
> 
> Sammya


	3. Issue #03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SupaCon begins! Teo and...who? enter the scene~!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happened (I graduated and I ended up really, really sick) but here is Issue 03 of CD. Please read [ my author's note on my site ](https://sammyawrites.com/post/164044829120/an-cd-v1-03) for the reason why the title changed! There's more info in that AN too so I'd recommend reading it. 
> 
> Okay~! Please enjoy Issue 03!!

SupaCon was a welcome relief to Miguel--especially as it enabled him to have a valid reason to leave the house without his sisters and mother calling constantly for “check ins”. His family was starting to rub raw at his nerves. Valeria and Lucas were sympathetic, but there was little they could do to help. His mother hadn’t made good on her threats to ground him, but only because she didn’t have energy enough (yet) to figure out how to deal with him.

This was a hill that Miguel would die on; if the day came when his mother did make a move, he had to figure out a plan. Telling his family had only backfired. He completely agreed with Moderator A’s Rule 3. _Tell your people,_ Mod A advised, and hadn’t the news shown that the family of heroes were always in danger? Like she had clearly said:

_Knowledge is power. So wouldn’t they be, well, more proactive if they knew the danger you would be putting them in? They would listen to you when you say run, instead of being targeted while shouting why._

If he could understand that, why couldn’t his family?

At least he had Val and Lucas, even if they were both currently surrounded by people wanting photos. Valeria’s costume was flawless, and so she had to keep fiercely reminding people not to touch her. Alicia--one of their old con friends--had joined their trio in her Scarlet Avenger cosplay. Given that it was the fifth anniversary of Scarlet and Jewel’s death, SupaCon had arranged a tribute to them. As such, there was a flood of Scarlet Avengers and Lady Jewels all around, yet Val and Alicia stood out with their clever designs. It made sense that Val was being asked for photographs--there wasn’t a con where she wasn’t--but Lucas being asked for photos was new. Miguel couldn’t tell if Lucas loved the attention or hated it.

Despite the distraction of his friends, Miguel was getting worried. Where was Teo? They had been all over the convention center and in the hotel, but he was nowhere to be found. They had agreed to meet up today, yet there was no text confirming anything and he was starting to grow frustrated. How could Teo have passed judgement on Miguel… and then not bothered to show up as agreed?

Miguel was starting to think he had been lead on, when a bubbly Stormchaser cosplayer stopped in front of him. “Are you Miguel?” she asked breathlessly. He was startled into a simple “yes,” before she grinned and said, “Great! Teo and me have been everywhere for you! His phone fell into the fountain earlier.”

“Oh.” That explained the lack of communication on Teo’s end. But who was this girl?

“I’m so glad I found you. Teo’s been annoyed all day, so this is a blessing, honestly. Do you have time to come with me? We’re supposed to be meeting up at the cafe!”

“That’s… Okay, I need to get my friends first.”

“Of course.”

It was a struggle but he managed to ditch Alicia, grab Valeria, and drag Lucas away from all the Starcrosser fangirls.

“Women are exhausting,” Lucas muttered as he followed them and eyed the girl next to Miguel with suspicion.

The girl took control of the conversation instantly, which was so similar to how conversations with Teo tended to go. Miguel couldn’t help but be amused as she half answered questions and changed the topic when she pleased. Teo’s friend or more likely girlfriend was nicer than him but still as bossy.   

* * *

 They entered the cafe to find Teo sitting at a large table, taking a tiny set of tools to the guts of his phone.

“Found him!” The girl took a seat next to Teo, who didn’t look up. Teo offered a small “thanks” before adjusting his glasses and picking up a tiny screwdriver.

Lucas and Valeria took their seats and left only the seat directly across from Teo opened. Miguel sat down reluctantly and was startled when that shifted Teo’s attention to him.

“Phones are too weak.” Great conversation starter, Miguel mused. Their texting so far had been just as blunt and direct.

“They can be,” Miguel agreed. “Are you trying to fix it? Why not just get a new one--”

“This is my personal design. I can’t just ‘get a new one.’” Teo glanced away from him to Val and Lucas. “Your friends?”

“Yes.”

Before either of could introduce themselves, Teo looked back at him, “Do you trust them?”

“Of course,” Miguel said, trying to hide how offensive that was to him. Did he trust Val and Lucas? That was the easiest question to answer and he couldn’t help his small frown--until Teo smiled slightly. It just wasn’t fair that someone who looked and sounded like he was annoyed with the world, was softened so much when he smiled. Miguel blurted out the first thing he could think of before he started grinning back like an idiot. “Your girlfriend was lucky to find us!”

Teo’s girlfriend shook her hand, “It wasn’t luck, it was skill.”

Teo glanced at her, “That’s what you take offense to?” His face softened even further, and Miguel was still thinking _no fair, no fair_ as Teo continued with, “He thinks we’re dating, Lex.”

“Everyone thinks that,” Lex said with a carefree smile. “His friends probably think so too.”

“Not me,” Valeria said. “Unlike Miguel, I don’t jump to conclusions.”

“That’s good,” Lex said. “I like that in a girl.”

“Oh,” Lucas said, and that was all he said before Lex continued talking.

“Me and this loser… we’re more like brothers than anything.”

Miguel was still catching up, when Valeria snapped her fingers, “I knew I recognized you guys. You were at the vigil, weren’t you?”

“Yes,” Teo said, rolling his eyes. “Though she wasn’t there too long. Just came to drag me off on a misadventure.”

“Only because you can’t drive yet, dear.”

“Sure, let’s go with that.” Teo stopped looking so soft, so openly affectionate as he refocused on Miguel. “Alex’s not my girlfriend--more like a pest I picked up and can’t get rid of.” Miguel stopped thinking _no fair_ and started thinking instead about how much he missed that softer look on Teo.

“My mistake,” Miguel said quietly.

“Let’s get to the topic at hand,” said Teo. “I’ll be blunt, since I’m sure Miguel’s told you both what he’s doing.”

“When are you not blunt?” Lex muttered.

“I guess my first question is: are you a Brite?” Miguel hesitated and then shook his head. “I see,” Teo said. The disappointment was clear.

“Does that really matter? I still want to help. Isn’t this meeting so you can tell me what you think I’m doing wrong?”

“Like I already said… ‘everything’.”

Miguel couldn’t help his wince, and Val stepped in for him. “It wouldn’t hurt to be more specific.”

Teo didn’t look at her, but looked directly at Miguel. “From his costume to his fighting style, everything’s wrong. A hero is formed from their own ideals. You’re just a failed imitation trying to match up with _her_ greatness. Tell me, what are you fighting for?”

Miguel braced himself with his hands curling into fists underneath the table, “That’s… I’m fighting because no one else is!”

Teo tilted his head, “I wasn’t aware that Captain Grace died.”

“The public doesn’t trust--”

“Who cares? Heroes can’t be guided by public opinion. Are you fighting for the acknowledgement of the public, Miguel?”

“I…” Valeria and Lucas just gave him encouraging nods. They believed in him, and he believed in what he was doing. What was he fighting for? “Because all the true heroes are gone. I know that Captain Grace is trying her best but she can’t match up with Scarlet and Jewel-”

“How arrogant can you be?”

“What?”

“‘True heroes’? True heroes end up dead. Are you really ready for that? Pathetic. You’ve wasted my time, and you’re being disrespectful of the dead.”

“You don’t know me--how can you say that?”

“I know you,” Teo said. “I see you trying to play hero and dragging up her ghost. Let her rest.”

“Wait a second,” Lucas interrupted. “He’s honestly not trying to do that. He saved the mayor’s daughter and has been doing a lot of good--you can’t just judge him like that!”

“That was an idiotic stroke of luck.”

“Sorry, but no,” Val said, “you’re not allowed to just sit here and call him an idiot and dismiss all the good he’s been doing!”

“Teo.” Lex laid a hand on his shoulder. “Calm down. They’re not your enemies.”

“Fine.” Teo fell silent, and Miguel’s heart stopped beating overtime for a moment. “I’ll give him another chance. Why else are you fighting?”

Before Miguel could reply, Lex cut in once more, “Take some time and think about that carefully, okay? Here--gimme your number. We’ll be around all weekend. Let’s meet up again.”

Miguel shook his head, “No thanks. I’ve heard all I needed to.”

He was a fool for thinking that Teo had had anything useful to say.

* * *

Teo’s words had filled him with self doubt. Was he wrong for wanting to carry on Scarlet’s legacy? Was he really doing harm instead of good? How was he harming _anyone_?

He ended up walking away from the cafe before Lucas and Val could join him. What could they even say to that? Why had he allowed Teo to just rip into him--of course he was right. It wasn’t wrong to look for support from the people he saved! If he hadn’t been there, the mayor’s only child would be dead. He was starting small, but he had had a noticeable impact on petty crime in the areas he looked after. How was that wrong?

His phone vibrated with messages from an unknown number.

 **UNKNOWN:** what teo meant was that it’s best to embrace who you are not who scarlet was and not who you think captain grace is.

 **UNKNOWN:** each of them are fighting for their own justice, their own reasons.

 **UNKNOWN:** they would die for those reasons.

 **UNKNOWN:** miguel… what would you give it all up for?

 **UNKNOWN:** a hero is more than just a costume. aren’t we here surrounded by LJ and SA look a likes? even your friend is in cosplay! but is she a hero?

 **UNKNOWN:** what makes you any different than all the others?  

 **UNKNOWN:** what makes you more than some dumbass fan?

 **UNKNOWN:** what makes you who you are?

 

Miguel thought about that. Of course he was different from these cosplayers! He had been working out and doing all he could for this. He had a set of guidelines and a plan. He was a hero. Right?

 **Miguel:** Who is this?

 **UNKNOWN:** lex! the friendly nonbinary guide to teo’s twisted mind <3

 **UNKNOWN:** teo’s phone is working now if you wanna talk to him yourself.

 **Miguel:** Later...maybe. I need to think.

 **Lex:** okay! i just want you to know that i honestly think you have POTENTIAL!!! :)))

 **Lex:** teo does too--like i know he has to or else he wouldn’t have gotten mad!

 **Lex:** think about your answer!

 **Lex:** he’ll be waiting!!!

* * *

On Saturday, Miguel just sat in the hotel room while Val and Lucas went out. He had no interest in any of tha. Instead, he curled up on the loveseat with his laptop and just rewatched as much footage of Scarlet and Jewel _before_ 2020 as he could. They had done so much during the years, had been at their peak, and then had been so tragically murdered. That could be him, couldn’t it?

Could he honestly say he was okay with that?

 **Lex:** sure you could die--no, you will die.

 **Lex:** is that okay?

 **Miguel:** I knew that from the start. I can’t do this half heartedly or I would hate myself.

 **Miguel:** How can I stop now? I’ve barely gotten started. I’ve not done what I need to do yet.

 **Lex:** Meet me at the cafe in half an hour so we can talk.

* * *

Miguel shouldn’t have been shocked to find Teo instead of Lex waiting for him. “Lex showed me the messages. I sent the last one.”

Thinking back, the final message had been different--blunt even--just like Teo.

“Are you two that close that she just shows you things like that?”

Teo shrugged, and then ran his thumb over the edge of his teacup. “I’m surprised. You’re really not going to give up? Even if people curse you, demand that you stop, are you that determined to press on? Even if…” Teo looked at him for a moment. “You’re going to keep doing this even if it’s painful to all those who loved her?”

“People who loved Scarlet? I’m someone who loved her… I need to do this because of who she was to me.” Miguel wanted Teo to look at him; he needed to see for himself if his words had changed Teo’s heart even a little. “Who was she to you?”

“She saved my life,” Teo said. “She gave my life to me. Do you understand now how I can’t help but care what people do _in her name_?”

“I’m not trying to be disrespectful. She means the world to me too… that day she died, everything changed. My dad died when I was young, so it wasn’t like it was the first time someone I knew died. But… it was Scarlet, you know? She shook my hand--she hugged me--she was so much to me, and she died. I didn’t know it was possible.”

“Brite or not, she was mortal,” Teo said. “Her death was inevitable.”

“I know, but still, it was a shock. Doing this now, being a hero, I feel like I’m honoring her. Bu like, you think I’m being disrespectful?”

“You can’t hope to mean to them what she did. You shouldn’t want that--wearing the skin of a dead woman. Living with her name…”  

“I never told them to call me that.”

“You haven’t told them to stop, either.”

“It’s not like I can hang around and give interviews!”

“Why not?”

“If my face ends up in the news again… my mom will kill me.”

Teo nodded. “Is that so? You know, I think I understand you now.”

“So you don’t think I’m being disrespectful?”

“You have a long way to go, but I think your heart is in the right place. I’ll help you get there.”

“Wait, you were serious about helping me? What do you think you can do that I can’t?”

“A lot more than you can.”

“Teo--”

“We have a lot of work to do, but that’s fine.”

“Do you ever stop to listen to anyone?”

“Sometimes,” Teo said, “when they have worthwhile information. When do you have class again?”

“Week after next.”

“Let’s meet on Tuesday then.”

“For what?”

“I’ll text you the address.”

“That’s… still not an answer, you know?”

Teo picked up his tea and sipped.

* * *

Miguel arrived home on Sunday afternoon to find his mother surrounded by boxes of his things. All of his superhero paraphernalia was carefully packed away, and she was changing his sheets.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“I got your report card.” The fitted sheet slipped out of her grip. “It was unacceptable, Miguel.”

“What was?” He thought back to his grades, there hadn’t been anything that he had failed. Why was she so upset? Why was she taking his _stuff_?

“Your grades in science and math are slipping. You can’t be a doctor with that average.” She conquered the sheet and then turned to him. “You’re still doing that hero thing, aren’t you?” He felt the weight of his costume on his back as she came towards him with her hand out. “Your phone, mijo.”

“Mom, I don’t understand. I thought we talked about this--”

“I told you to _stop_ and you didn’t _listen_ and now your grades are slipping. So, I will make you hear me.”

“Mom--”

“Now.”

“What am I supposed to do without my phone? How will anyone reach me?”

“You will live.”

“But my friends--”

“--will still be around when your grades improve.”

“The next report doesn’t come out for three more months!” He thought of his life without being able to talk with his friends for _months_. “And I didn’t fail any of my classes!”

“Barely passing isn’t good enough for universities, Miguel! You cannot seem to focus on what _matters_ so I will help you. You will get this phone back after I see an improvement.”

He held fast, and she shook her head. Her hand stayed out. She was firm in her resolve, but so was he. How could he just hand over his phone? It wasn’t like he was out partying like Camila had in high school. He did nothing but go to school, study, and try to help people. He had to meet with Teo on Tuesday--how could he just give his phone over?

“There has to be something else you can take,” Miguel said.

“It all goes,” she said. “No distractions.”

“Mom--” he started, but then his phone vibrated, startling him. She reached out and snatched it away. “Mom!”

* * *

Tuesday faded into Wednesday, and he knew that he must have pissed off Teo. But there was no way for him to reach out to him. His home had become his prison.

Bianca dropped him off to school and told him to take the bus straight home. There was nothing to say to that, so he simply headed to his usual morning spot.

“Your mom has officially lost it,” Lucas said.

Miguel almost cried with relief. The past week had been hell. “You have no _idea_.”

“Val’s worried sick--she thought you wouldn’t be allowed to attend classes.”

“I can _only_ leave for school. Apparently a 7 is failing now.”

“Wait till she hears about _my_ average. This really sucks, your mom sucks! Oh, right…” Lucas pulled a small box out of his backpack. “Here.”

“What is this?”

“A box that you’re supposed to open.”

Miguel rolled his eyes, and opened up the box. Inside was a smartphone just resting casually inside. “Lucas this is a phone.”

“I know.”

“She’s going to _take_ it--how did you even afford this?”

“It’s a gift from your boyfriend.”

“Can you start speaking normal Spanish now?”

“I am, dude. Hold on do you need me to say this in English? _Teo, your boyfriend, gave you that phone._ ”

“He’s not--why is he giving me a phone?”

“Dude, why don’t you just read his message?”

Miguel sighed, and settled down on the grass. Lucas kneeled next to him as he turned on the phone. “Password?”

“‘Teoguel.’” Lucas held up a hand to block Miguel’s punch. “No, seriously, the password is _SCARLET_.”

“This is insane,” Miguel muttered. The phone was flooded with messages. He opened up Zole, and shook his head. Almost all his contacts were in the app, as were most of his group chats, with a few additions. At the top was a message from Teo.

 **Teo:** This is a gift so that you can continue walking your path. A direct line to me and your other friends during this crisis. Call me so we can discuss our next move.

“I’m still severely confused.”

“Miguel, to quote Lex, who is my new BFF, ‘a hero doesn’t ask for forgiveness.’ This is how you’re going to keep doing you while your mom’s on her warpath.”

“Okay, but consider this: I’m grounded--”

“Who _cares_. Heroes follow their own path. While you’re busy following her rules, what about your own rules? What is your heart telling you right now?”

Miguel’s heart? It was silent--no. It was moving in overtime. This was his ticket out of jail. Could he really just cast it aside because his mom had grounded him? That wasn’t justice; she wasn’t _just_. Miguel was needed, and so Miguel couldn’t just stop fighting.

“Thank you.”

“I’m not the one to be thanking.”

Miguel grinned at Lucas, “You’re right.”

He called Teo.

“Took you long enough.”

“Hi, I’m told I should be thanking you. I’m sorry about not being able to reach you sooner.”

“No, I understand how moms can be. I have two. Let’s meet up after school. You have early dismissal as well, correct?”

“Yes?”

“Good. We have a lot to discuss.”

“Yes, we do.”

Teo said, “I can hear your resolve,” and hung up.

Lucas was grinning when he looked at him. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Miguel looked down at the phone, and turned it over. It didn’t look like any of the popular brands, but it was so obviously high tech. Where had Teo _gotten_ it?

“I’m glad to be back.” Miguel stood up and slid the phone into his pocket. “You guys have a lot of explaining to do. Like, what do you mean new BFF? I’m offended.”

Lucas grinned, “Good, you’re meant to be.”

* * *

To: [scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com](mailto:scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com)

From: [news@rocketpunch.com](mailto:news@rocketpunch.com)

 

ICYMI: Recent News in San Martín

 

SupaCon honors fallen heroes with massive tribute.

By Febe Mendoza Ramos

**Click to read more**

 

Cortez Ortega Gil says “San Martín’s crime rates are directly the fault of Mayor’s disgusting nepotism...”

**Click to watch video**

**Hot New Forum Topics You Missed:**

_SupaCon PICS! Vote for best cosplayer now!_

_SupaCon post con BLUES! How to deal?_

_…_

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Issue Soon
> 
> Fun Fact #03
> 
> I finally decided to change the name of the novel because I was talking with someone today and couldn't pronounce "Demoledor" without tripping up and saying "Demolisher" that was proof enough that I needed to change it!
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading~!
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](https://sammyaworks.tumblr.com/), [twitter](https://twitter.com/sammyaworks), and [on my site](https://www.sammyaworks.com/)~! 
> 
> Sammya


	4. Issue #04

Teo had picked Voyagers, an expensive cafe that was popular with Universidad Central de La Estrella students, for them to meet at after school. Lucas seemed right at home, so Miguel followed him to a round glass table at the back where Lex and Valeria were chatting. Before Miguel could speak, Valeria already had gathered him in a tight hug. She seemed taller than him for a moment. It reminded Miguel of the first day they’d met, when Valeria had sat down next to him at lunch while Lucas was out sick, which had forced Miguel to eat alone for the first time since starting fourth grade. From that day on, she’d never stopped being welcoming. After she let go and they’d all sat down, Miguel realized how much he’d missed them all. These were people who were normally a text away, people who had been ripped from him by his mother. That forced isolation was over now that they were all together. He settled comfortably in a chair between Valeria and Lucas.

“I’m surprised your mom was that mad,” Valeria bit her lip. “It’s not as if you’re failing or were in danger of it. It was a couple low test scores, right? You’re not a bad student if you’re still above the school’s average!”

“Telling her about me being a hero probably didn’t help. She thinks I got them because I’m distracted.” Miguel’s mother could be strict but she had never been this strict. In the past, he’d roll his eyes and keep moving, but now? He couldn’t even do that. She had taken away his ability to shrug it off with one snatch of his phone. But now that he was back where he belonged, he was starting to feel steady again. But… not all was the same, was it? There was Lex and Teo, who was not currently at the table to consider. How did they fit into his life? Teo was… Miguel suppressed a roll of his eyes, deciding to focus his attention on Lex for now. “So, Lex, I heard I’ve been replaced as Lucas’s BFF?”

Lex glanced at Lucas who had sprawled into the chair next to her. “As if Teo would give up being my number one!”

Lucas crossed his legs with a sigh. “Haven’t you heard of playing along?”

“I’d play along for three slices of their famous chocolate cake,” she said, fingers to her cheek, stretching her grin out.

“Pass,” Lucas said. “Looks like you’re still my true BFF, Miguel.”

“I’m honored that that you being broke has saved our friendship… ” Miguel laughed before he looked at the empty seat between Lucas and Lex. “Where’s Teo?”

“Placing our order!” Lex said, “Better hurry if you want him to pay for you too.”

“How can he even afford to do that?” The quality phone sitting heavily in Miguel’s pocket had to be worth a small fortune. Did Teo come from money or something?

“I think he gets an allowance from Tita Antonia?” Lex offered helpfully.

“Tita Antonia?”

“Oh… well… you better hurry and tell him your order, Miguel!” Lex waved over toward Teo.

Miguel took her advice and went to join Teo at the register where he was still ordering. Was all that food honestly just for the five of them? It had to be half the menu. Teo paused and finally looked Miguel’s way. “Would you like anything?”

“Um…”

“Well?” Teo adjusted his glasses and kept staring at Miguel.

Giving in to that stare, Miguel ordered his favorite soda and a vegan sandwich. When the cashier announced the total, Miguel was stunned into silence as Teo just tapped his phone and walked back to their table without so much as a pause at the cost. Seriously, how could Teo afford all of this?

First things first, before they were in range of their friends, Miguel wanted to thank him. “Thanks for the phone, Teo. Are you sure it’s alright to give it to me as a gift?”

“It’s just a prototype.”

A prototype? It was already so well designed and overall better than his usual phone, and it was just a prototype? But he had another question now. “Did you make it?”

Teo took his seat and looked over at Miguel as he took back his spot. “I make all my electronics.”

What kind of tech genius had Miguel stumbled upon? Miguel didn’t know what to think as their arrival interrupted the other’s back and forth.

“Oh, you’re done?” Valeria looked at Teo and smiled. “Thank you!” Val’s thanks only kickstarted a chorus of gratitude that Teo suffered through before he turned his focus toward Miguel.

“I believe I’ve found a solution to your situation.”

“Of course you have.”

“A tutor should fix your mother’s anger. It’ll prove to her that you’re trying to improve.”

“I tried that on Monday. I asked if Val could tutor me, and she laughed.”

Teo crossed his arms. “Obviously she would say no to Valeria tutoring you. But, if you introduce me as your tutor that might work in our favor.”

There was no way that if he tried to claim Teo was tutoring him that his mom would believe that. Did Teo not realize how he looked? His mother would never believe he was Miguel’s tutor.

But before he could say anything, their food arrived. The majority was placed in front of Teo, but everyone else had a decent amount compared to Miguel. Was he really the only one who felt bad about spending Teo’s money?

Teo moved his soup bowl in front of him and arranged his sandwich, salad, and pie neatly around him in what seemed like a proper place setting. He directed his next words to his soup spoon. “Miguel, you look like you have concerns about my plan.”

Lucas laughed as he stabbed his spoon into his bread bowl. “Teo, my guy, only an idiot wouldn’t.”

Teo looked thoughtful rather than annoyed, and all Miguel could wonder was when they had all gotten so comfortable with each other. It had only been three days, right? It had taken him the better part of a decade and long term exposure to not get annoyed with Lucas. Yet, here was Teo taking a direct insult and shrugging it off.

“Fine,” Teo said, voice mellow. “What are you concerned about, Miguel?”

Um, have you seen yourself? Miguel held back from saying that, instead going, “You wouldn’t be the type of tutor she’d want me to have.”

“Why not?”

“She wants me to have girl tutors.”

Teo rolled his eyes. “Really? Then Lex can do it.”

Lex spoke up around a mouthful of cake. “Don’t volunteer my services like that.”

“I’m sure Miguel’s mom would pay you.”

“I do need money for the Magical Girls of Despair Academia boxset…”

Teo nodded. “Then that’s settled. Next, we need to decide on a schedule for your training.”

“That might work.” Miguel admitted after studying Lex for a moment. Even his mother would see that Lex was the exact opposite of his type if past experience had taught him nothing else. “So, what kind of training do you mean?”

Teo reached for his phone and after a moment said, “I can be free on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Weekends as well. We’ll need the time to get to the mountains, of course, so the earlier we leave…”

“Why the mountains?”

Teo put his phone on the table. “Lower casualties, of course.” His frustration began leaking through in the quick remark. “Are you free on those days?”

Miguel didn’t even bother to point out that he was still grounded because Teo seemed so confident in his plan. “Sure.”

* * *

 

It was a simple matter of catching the bus home when they finished. Val had already gone her separate way. Lucas got off at his stop, and then, Miguel continued on with Lex and Teo, who insisted on coming despite Miguel’s efforts to convince him he would only be in the way and ruin the plan.

This plan was doomed to fail, and Miguel didn’t know why he had went along with it at all. They hadn’t seen how serious his mother had been on Sunday. He wished Teo had stayed outside to wait, but he was right next to Lex as Miguel unlocked his front door.

Surprisingly, his mother was home and drinking tea with Bianca in the living room. One of Bianca’s shows was on and, from the half touched slices of cake in front of them, had been on for a while. Miguel could tell from his mother's frown that he had made a mistake. There was no way she would allow this.

Then, Lex stepped in front of him and, with an easy smile, introduced herself and Teo. His mother was never one to be rude, so she introduced herself as well. Bianca muted the TV but turned on the subtitles. She gave the conversation half of her attention, clearly convinced whatever Miguel had planned wouldn’t work so there was no need to pause her show.

“We can’t stay long, ma’am, but Miguel reached out to me after seeing one of my ads and I wanted to properly introduce myself.”

“Your ads?” His mother asked.

“For my tutoring service.” Lex smiled and waved at Teo who looked too comfortable in Miguel’s house. But then again Teo always looked comfortable everywhere. Miguel had yet to see him look truly uncomfortable. “I’m still on the clock, but I wanted to make sure to get your permission since I know Miguel is grounded right now.”

“What subjects do you tutor in?”

“My specialities are the languages and maths! I’m a student at Parallax Academy and I also volunteer my services at El Centro de la Luz del Futuro as a peer tutor.”

“Parallax Academy? Centro de la Luz del Futuro?” His mother looked thoughtful, and Miguel couldn’t help but pray that she would agree, however unlikely as that seemed. “Miguel isn’t that bad a student. He just needs to refocus on his studies.” Miguel turned slightly to make sure his expression stayed neutral. Teo caught his eye roll and raised one brow. His mother was being dramatic. He was still making good grades and would continue to.

“I completely understand. A lot of my students are like that, ma’am. I’ll be helping him learn techniques that have helped me over the years. It’s helped me maintain my rank throughout high school.”

“Well…” Miguel held his breath, and then his mother asked, “Do you do trial periods?”

“Of course!”

“It couldn’t hurt… What days did you have in mind?”

“We were thinking Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.”

His mother paused for a second, and Miguel was sure that this was when everything would come crashing down, but instead, she said, “I don’t want to stop him from trying to improve, especially if he sought you out. Those days sound fine to me. Do you have a number I can reach you at to check in?”

“Of course.” Miguel watched as his mom exchanged numbers with Lex, and they started discussing payment and the trial period. It was Parallax Academy, wasn’t it? Bianca offered her approval because El Centro de la Luz del Futuro was known for its tutors. With that, Miguel’s mother had been completely won over, especially since Parallax Academy was where she had wanted Miguel to go. Miguel couldn’t help his sigh of disbelief as Teo leaned toward him for a moment.

“Don’t use the gift I gave you in the house… and I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Teo muttered before backing away. Lex was shaking his mom’s hands and declining an offer for tea, instead talking about how she and Miguel would meet up tomorrow after classes. It was so bizarre, but Teo’s scheme seemed to have worked.

“I’m glad to see you being proactive, Miguel,” his mother approvingly said once he had seen the two out the door. All he could think was _I can’t believe that worked._

* * *

 

The next afternoon, Lex was nowhere to be seen when Miguel met up with Teo at the train station. He hadn’t thought they’d be going to the mountains so soon, but Teo just handed him his ticket and passed him one of the nylon duffle bags next to his feet.

“Where’s Lex?”

“She got Tainã to drive her to this comic store.”

“Tainã?”

“My friend.”

Miguel held back his comment of “You have friends?” and shifted the bag onto his other shoulder. “What’s in these?”

“Tools and supplies.” Teo picked up the remaining two bags, and nodded as the train approached. “Let’s go.”

It was a relief to find an empty section and finally set the bags down. Teo seemed to be handling them carefully, so Miguel did the same. Teo sprawled out across from him, bags carefully arranged at his side on the worn blue seats.

“What training are we doing today?” Miguel leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. The train starting moving with a whistle and a jerk forward.

Teo pulled out a tablet, a silver one without any logos, and turned on a video instead of replying. Miguel knew it well; it was one of Scarlet’s generally lesser known fights against some common Brites from her earlier years. Watching her move, turning effortlessly from one opponent to the next like they were all parts of one enemy, really reminded Miguel of how graceful and almost birdlike she could be while still doing damage.

“Your first mistake was thinking you could fight exactly like Scarlet Avenger,” Teo said when the video ended. “If I was to compare you two… she would barely reach your shoulders. You have a lot more mass than her so grace should be the last thing you’re going for. Fancy moves will get you, a non-Brite, killed easily.”

“You should focus on bulking up more. You’re already pretty solid, so you don’t need to avoid hits like Scarlet did. She was an elf, and you’re more of an ogre. You have to learn how to use your force as both a weapon and how to use the environment to your advantage. Brute force can only get you so far.” Teo paused, before asking, almost hesitantly it seemed, “Did I say something wrong?”

“Besides calling me an ogre?” All the other stuff had been almost acceptable, but that had left a sour taste in Miguel’s mouth.

Teo rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re the type to get upset over your appearance.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Teo just stared at him for a long, uncomfortable moment before saying, “By ogre I was referring to your height and general build, not your face. Would barbarian be better?”

Miguel was silent, letting the bell of the train’s upcoming stop fill the air until the final chime faded. Had that been an almost-apology from Teo? He looked around the car, from one end to the other, but there was no one else but them. So… a barbarian, huh?

“It might be.”

“Then you’re a barbarian, and Scarlet’s a mage. Either way, she can waste her time doing all those flips since she also had her mind powers, but you need to focus on winning and your survival.” Teo loaded up another video, and handed Miguel the tablet. “Have you ever seen how Lady Jewel fights?”

“Not as much as Scarlet.”

“I thought as much,” Teo said.

He kept loading up video after video of superheroes fighting. They came in all shapes and sizes, and Teo had comments on all of their strengths and weaknesses with encyclopedic knowledge. They paused on a video of M&M, a newer hero from San Jose, to get off the train.

Leaving the station felt like entering another world to Miguel even though Teo seemed to know exactly where he was going. They left the small town mining surrounding the station behind as they walked west. They reached the base of the mountain, and with heavy exhale, the sweaty Teo sat on a boulder. Teo pressed a hand to his chest, taking in air slowly as if it force his body back under his command.

“Do you not get that much exercise?” Miguel asked as he sat his bags down. Ahead of them was nothing but trees that marched toward the base of the mountain. The sun was hidden behind the range, its light casting the valley into shadow.

Teo considered him. “Obviously not as much as you. How long does it take for you get tired?”

Miguel thought about that. He honestly didn’t know so he finally shrugged, saying, “A while.”

“How long is that in hours?” Teo unzipped the bag he’d carried and began pulling several silver disks. When Miguel didn’t immediately reply, Teo let out his usual frustrated sigh and pointed at the bag by Miguel’s foot. “I need that one too.”

“What is all this?” Teo had silver disks covering the boulder he had briefly rested on. From the bag Miguel had carried he pulled out a laptop and settled that on the sparse grass. He was also not responding to Miguel, just quietly muttering to himself in a rapid, sharp tongue that Miguel couldn’t place. Of course the tech boy wonder knew another language or four.

Miguel settled on the ground, resting against the boulder while Teo worked above him. This way he could be within reach, and also, it might remind Teo that he wasn’t alone and should actually talk. Miguel logged on Zole and clicked on the newly minted #Squad chat. He’d missed nearly one hundred and fifty messages since he’d met up with Teo.

 **Val** : no listen lucas as miguel’s ‘soul brother’ or whatever…

 **Val** : god it’s like you don’t even read fanfiction even though you write so much of it!!!

 **Lucas** : okay i love miguel but i’m not taking one for the team

 **Miguel** : What the hell is going on here?

 **Lucas** : val thinks we’re gonna have butt babies, but like i’m not the one buying you expensive shit. i already have wives to support

 **Lex** : adoption is an option lucas

 **Miguel** : What level of hell have you guys gone to now?

 **Val** : omg…

 **Val** : the BFF always turns into a bad guy! that’s what i mean!

 **Miguel** : Too late for that.

 **Lex** : oooh that trope

 **Val** : exactly

 **Lucas** : ok no

 **Lucas** : the disrespect up in this house sickens me

_Lucas renamed #Squad to #RespectLucasSquad_

**Lucas** : like val you are so CLEARLY gonna end up dating a villain lady! it’ll be this huge mess!

 **Lucas** : miguel will die

 **Miguel** : Why am I dying?

 **Lucas** : so then it’ll be up to me to like get revenge

 **Lucas** : so bite me val

 **Teo** : Children. Enough.

 **Lucas** : hello to you too teo

“Get off your phone. We have work to do.”

Miguel looked up and burst out laughing. Teo had a pair of silver goggles taking up half his face and gloves almost touching his shoulders. It clashed horribly with his clothes, yet the downward curve of his lips begged Miguel to continue laughing at his own peril. Miguel sat his phone down, unable to look at Teo and not say something snarky about his choices. He looked instead to the now missing disks that had covered the boulder a few minutes ago.

“What happened to your…” Miguel made a circular motion and Teo was quiet for a long moment. From the way he moved, ever so slightly, Miguel figured Teo was probably rolling his eyes, but Miguel was only guessing because of the way Teo’s goggles obscured his eyes. “What are they?”

“Robots.”

“Those were robots? What are they for?”

Teo sat down on the boulder next to his laptop and pointed in front of him. There was still nothing ahead but trees and the mountain. “Let’s get started, Miguel.”

“Get started doing… what?” After an awkward pause Miguel stood in front of him, looking at his frustrated face reflected back. “Teo, would it kill you to explain? Like would you just up and die?”

“Yes. Because it’s easier to just show you. Go stand over there.”

Miguel didn’t move and Teo pulled off one glove and then the other, in slow, careful movements before he yanked off the goggles as he stood up.

“Why are you being stubborn?” Teo was scowling at him, as usual, eyes narrowing as he leaned into Miguel’s space. “You accepted my help, didn’t you?”

“I did but that doesn’t mean if you say jump I’m going to just jump without wanting to know why.” Miguel could see the flutter of Teo’s eyelashes kissing his cheeks. His brown eyes were sparking with pure frustration. Miguel pushed the color of his eyes somewhere else in his mind for later. For now, he was just trying to not let Teo bully him into doing whatever without offering an explanation. “What are the robots for?”

Another flutter of his lashes as Teo took in a deep breath, clicked his tongue, and stepped around Miguel. Teo squinted out at the trees before them and then at the base of the mountain emerging beyond them. He reached into his pocket and settled his glasses on his face before turning around to Miguel.

“I set up a course from here to the mountain base. When you’re in position, you’ll enter the course. You will then need to evade being caught by,” Teo tapped his foot, “the surveillance bots. How you choose to do so is up to you. As you can see, there are plenty of coverage to use as you see fit. Your goal is the base of the mountain where I've set up a flag you’ll need to tap in order to win.”

“You want me to play tag with your robots?”

“I need to see how you move and think for myself. Think of it as tag if you want.” Teo came back past him and picked up the goggles. He took off his glasses again and squinted until he had put back on the silver eyewear.

Miguel looked over at the spot Teo had indicated. “I don’t see a flag.”

“I haven’t activated the course yet.” Without so much as another look toward Miguel, Teo pulled one glove up and then the other. He then settled himself on the boulder with his hands in his lap. “Will you get into position now?”

“Was that so hard?” Miguel didn’t hide his victorious smile and moved to stand where Teo had just been. Teo had tapped a foot on the grass, so Miguel looked down and nudged it. It was one of the disks from before. The center glowed with blue-white light that flickered orange when he touched it.

“It was boring.” Teo’s voice sounded like it was coming from much closer than the few feet separating them. “I’m starting the course now.”

The disk suddenly lit up with a violent red light, and then, there was a wall pressing against Miguel’s back. He turned to see nothing but a dark, dull gray slab. He had seen it in some of the training videos from years back when superheroes had still been widely allowed to take on mentees. Now, this technology was banned, available only for the military’s use.

“I’m giving you sixty seconds to adjust. The bots will be activated shortly. You won’t be able to exit the course until you’ve either been caught or tapped the flag. Do you see that red light?”

“Teo, how did you get your hands on this tech?” Miguel was listening, but he was also interested in examining tech that he never dreamed he would see up close.

“Thirty seconds. Do you see the red light?”

Miguel turned from the wall. Past all the trees he could see a faint beam of red light. “Yeah, I see it.”

“Twenty seconds. Are you really going to waste your head start asking questions?” Was that irritation or amusement Miguel heard in Teo’s voice? More likely, it was his ever-present boredom. Val thought Lucas would become a villain, but Miguel was starting to wonder if Teo would be the better candidate.

Miguel took a step toward the light. Of course, Teo’s explanation had barely been enough to get him ready for this. Miguel was going to make him talk properly after this. “You called them surveillance bots… will I get hurt if they catch me?”

Teo’s voice came from off in the distance, to his right from another disk on the ground. “They can only administer mild shocks for now. If you get in their line of sight, you will get shocked and caught.”

“Why was it so hard to say these things earlier?”

Miguel stepped around a tree, an invisible wall blocking him from going straight. As he rounded the trunk there was one of the bots. Small, silver, its white light was shining on a tree opposite him. It turned to his tree just as he turned back behind it. Teo was silent. The bot buzzed past, light off now that its scan was complete.

Miguel went the opposite way, red beam missing now that he was deeper into the forested area. “Teo?”

“Is it wise to distract yourself talking to me?” Miguel didn’t have to wonder this time. That tone was borderline amusement, a note of laughter just shy of being expressed. It was nothing like the first time they’d met when Teo’s laughter had been so cruel. He was curious how he would sound, what his face would look like if he genuinely laughed. “Well, Miguel?”

That was all the warning he got as another bot buzzed by. The white light clicked on as Miguel crouched low behind a boulder until it had passed. How many of the bots were there? Or was only one activated? If that had been a warning could Teo see him right now?

Of course he could. Miguel sighed. How should he proceed so that he wouldn’t embarrass himself on the footage Teo was most likely recording?

Miguel remembered some of the training footage he had seen. No one had died from running courses, but some young heroes had gotten hurt for being careless or cocky. Teo would probably mock him if he did something foolish, if he got himself caught by the bots. A game of tag, right? Obviously he couldn’t stay in one place for long, so deeper into the forest he went. Teo hadn’t set a time limit, but Miguel didn’t want to be caught up for hours running drills when there was more to do.

He felt resentful at the pointlessness of this exercise. It only increased when he ran into another invisible wall when he was trudging uphill. He swallowed a shocked yelp. There was no need to give Teo the satisfaction of getting one over on him. There was another disk on the ground, and he nudged it with his foot. It blinked orange at him in protest.

That was fine, right? Tt just meant he had Teo’s attention. “Hey, Teo?”

“Hm?”

“What’s with this test anyway?”

Teo sounded distracted. “I need to evaluate the best way to train you. How else can I do that if I don’t have a baseline to go off of?”

That was true, Miguel admitted. It was true but again, Teo should have just said that earlier. Communication would be something to work on if they were going to proceed in this alliance. Miguel stared at the wall and put a hand on it to get him past it when it forced him on a sharp left. There were no more disks that he could see but he stepped carefully, wondering now if by touching them he was only drawing attention from the robots. That would make sense.

What did he look like to Teo right now? A tiny dot moving in a maze? Or could he see the frustrated frown on Miguel’s face as he walked through the bush? Each step had Miguel pausing to make sure none of the bots were around.

It took him a moment to look forward and there it was. The red beam of light that was the goal. Finally.

There weren’t any bots in sight as he rushed forward.

Just a few inches from the flag he stepped hard on a disk, could feel the heat reaching up from the angry buzz it gave off. Orange light and then white light surrounded his body and the heat, the pulse of a shock spread through him.

He looked down as he fell to one knee to see the angry eye of one of the surveillance bots staring at him from the center of the disk.

 _Really_? Miguel thought.

“Interesting,” Teo said.

Miguel groaned, running one hand over his face, feeling his hair stand high as he glared at the eye. Teo’s voice was coming directly from beneath him, a speaker system hidden in the disk’s white face.

“Get up, you’re not hurt. Let’s take a moment to discuss your results.” Despite Teo’s hard words, there was warmth, even amusement that Miguel had only heard directed at Lex before. He stood up and hobbled back toward where he knew Teo waited.

* * *

“I’ll need to do more tests… but you did pretty good.” Teo was looking at his laptop when Miguel got back to the clearing. Teo was smiling, caught up in whatever he was looking at. He didn’t look bored, didn’t even sound frustrated. He looked at his laptop, fingers sliding across keys and the screen, as if it held the answers to a problem that had been out of reach for so long. It was a good look on him. “For completely failing, you failed well. We can improve on this. Congratulations, you’re not a lost cause.” Teo looked up at Miguel, glasses back on his face.

“Did your mom never teach you how to talk to people?”

“One of them might have.”

“One of them?”

Teo closed his laptop. “I have two. I told you this before. Before you ask, they were married. They aren’t any longer. Let’s go. I have enough data to plan for Saturday.”

Miguel had questions about that but held off for now. Instead, he moved on to something a little more innocuous. “Don’t we need to go get your bots?”

Teo nodded at one of the bags as he put his laptop in the other. “They move fast and silently. I built them myself based off the designs of the old ones superheroes used.”

“How did you get access to those designs?” Teo zipped up the last bag and held out the other one for Miguel. “That’s not a rhetorical question, Teo.”

Teo sighed. He didn’t sound frustrated, just tired as he spoke, voice tight and hand extended. “Miguel, there’s things I can’t tell you because it’s not my information to share, okay?”

Miguel took the bag from Teo. “Okay. Can you tell me this? Will we get in trouble for using these?”

Teo raised an eyebrow. “You’re already grounded. What more trouble can you get in?”

“I’m pretty sure the government could do worse than ground me.”

Teo started walking. “If that’s how you feel we might as well quit now. Congress just overturned the president’s veto ten minutes ago. No more heroes under 18.”

“I thought they didn’t have enough support for that!” Miguel caught up with him.

“The age of heroes is over, Miguel. The government no longer wants to extend their support to the next generation.” Teo’s voice got tight again. “Even though they’re not doing anything to fight back against the rise in crime, they want no more heroes fixing their messes. They don’t get that by stripping the current heroes of mentees with this new law there won’t be any heroes to train anyone who is of age.” Teo looked his way, frown deep. “Heroes don’t live long and if they don’t pass on their wisdom when they can… there won’t be heroes to replace them.”

Miguel looked down at the bag Teo had handed him. “If IHF didn’t disband when the Americans and everyone else started passing those laws… I’m not going to let Estrellas’ government tell me I can’t be a hero. They don’t know what it’s like here. They haven’t seen how much change I’ve made just patrolling at night in the city.” Miguel looked at Teo who was studying him quietly. “What?”

“You sounded like her just then.” Teo’s voice was low. He was looking at Miguel but Miguel didn’t think he was seeing him. Miguel almost touched Teo, wanting to see him smiling like earlier, instead of looking sad and tired. If he thought touching him would have helped, just a simple hand to say you’re not alone he would’ve. But he couldn’t help but feel that Teo wouldn’t welcome it. Teo was gone for a moment before his eyes refocused and he was back with Miguel. “You really did.”

“Scarlet?”

“Mhm. She and Lady Jewel constantly fought hard against the government’s restrictions on superheroes. I remember reading a while ago about how they’d try and meet with officials to show them the good they were doing. Surprisingly, the officials kept the restrictions low… up until the day they were both killed and those politicians immediately used their deaths to justify restrictions on Estrellas’ heroes. They never would have wanted this.”

“Yeah, exactly.” None of what was happening had been what Scarlet Avenger had fought so hard and long for. “Since I’m carrying on her, their legacy, there’s no way we’re going to let them stop us.”

“Us?”

“Us.” Miguel confirmed and he smiled as Teo shook his head saying, “Miguel, I’m not a hero. But I’m happy to offer my support to our spandex-wearing heroes.”

“I don’t wear spandex!”

“Hm…” Teo looked at his watch. “Reminds me that we need to discuss your costume. Let’s get to the train station before it leaves though.”

 

* * *

 

To: scarletfan25@rocketpunch.com

From: news@rocketpunch.com

**ICYMI: Recent News in San Martín**

_The Legacy of Superheroes and Their Sidekicks_ release date pushed up with new law passed.

By Febe Mendoza Ramos

**Click to read more**

Exclusive Interview with San Jose’s own M&M!

By Alano Ortiz Soto

**Click to read more**

Cortez Ortega Gil on Congress overriding the President’s veto and the impact on the crime wave.

**Click to watch video**

**Hot New Forum Topics You Missed:**

_No Teen Heroes Law Passed? How fucked are we???_

_Estrellas=República de la Discordia?_

_Has anyone seen that Scarlet Avenger Ripoff recently?_

_…_

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #04:
> 
> IHF is the International Heroes Force which is currently headed by four core members: Machina, Starcrosser, King Gilgamesh IV, and Stormchaser. Machina and Starcrosser are married. King Gilgamesh IV married into royalty in his youth. Stormchaser is incredible and also a member of DDD (Damsels in Distress Don't Need Your Help). 
> 
> Out of the four of them only 2 are brites. Two are not. This will be important later as more details of the 2016 conflict come to light. 
> 
> [You can read the Author's Note for this issue on my site](https://sammyawrites.com/post/172006389140/an-cd-v1-04). I am switching to a 4x a year schedule for Crimson Demolisher with 1-2 special updates at random points during the year! 
> 
> Thanks for reading, see you all in June! 
> 
> Make sure to [check out my site](https://sammyawrites.com/) for other stories I'm working on! 
> 
> -Sammya


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